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Knicks Morning News (2025.12.31)

News & Blogs

  • Knicks Bulletin: ‘You’ve got to have a guy’ – Posting & Toasting
  • Mohamed Diawara latest Knicks youngster to reward Mike Brown’s confidence – SNY
  • Miles McBride shows no signs of rust in clutch return off Knicks’ bench – SNY
  • Knicks 130, Pelicans 125: Cap and OG outlast Zion and that fool Poole – Posting & Toasting
  • Knicks trade talk: Guerschon Yabusele is New York’s odd man out – New York Daily News
  • Inside the Knicks: OG Anunoby’s All-NBA defense; Mohamed Diawara is fitting in – The New York Times
  • YT News

  • Top 3 Knicks Questions for 2026! | KFS POD | Knicks Film School – Knicks Film School
  • Knicks vs Spurs New Years Eve Showdown: Key Trends, Injury Report & Predictions – Knicks Fan TV
  • Diawara And Knicks EXPLODE with New Offensive Firepower! #shorts – Knick of Time
  • This Isn’t Last Season’s Knicks (They’re Way Better) – Hot Hand Theory
  • 39 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2025.12.31)”

    We still have one more day of 2025 to relish. May the Knicks make it all the more positively memorable!

    Ok..wtf is up with Mitch? When I saw he was out against the Pels for “ankle management”, I thought, “that’s ok..we will have him ready for Wemby on Wednesday”. Now he’s out again tonight? I’m legit worried.

    JK47says:
    December 31, 2025 at 02:28
    Mikal Bridges this year has seen an increase in both 3pt% and 2pt%, an increase in 3PAr, an increase in AST%, an increase in TRB%, has doubled his STL% and BLK%, and has lowered his TOV%.

    It has been a remarkable turnaround, a career year for him. He’s shooting more threes and taking more shots near the basket, and fewer midrange jumpers. This is the player we thought we were getting when we traded for him.

    Yeah, while probably still not worth 5 unprotected firsts and a swap, much much closer and makes the trade hurt a bit less. The shooting has settled down from the crazy hot start to a very sustainable .612 TS%, and one reason for that is that he’s back to his PHX usage levels. Another is that he’s back in the defensive role for which he’s best suited.

    Even beyond the minutes, Thibs definitely utilized him in suboptimal ways. Point for Brown!

    I do in fact know the incoming schools chancellor, as I still work a few days a month at my former school as a jack of all administrative trades, and he’s been superintendent in our district since I retired in 2022. My successor and I think very highly of Kamar, as he is very much aligned philosophically with us in regards to promoting values we hold dear. It’s a very tough, very political job so we’ll see how it goes.

    Same with Mamdani, although my alignment with him is less than with Mr. Samuels, wishing him success in his role as mayor of the greatest city in the world.

    Meanwhile KAT is at his career low in 2pt% & eFG%, and this is the worst 3pt% year since his rookie season.

    It seems like he’s unlocking Bridges and OG at his own expense. But I think it’s on a matter of when, not if, he adjusts to and embraces this role.

    Between KAT coming back to his mean and the potential of getting healthy, I think this team is just scratching its surface, all while developing depth and optionality for use in the future.

    I used to use a horse racing analogy with Thibs: he was like a jockey who’d go to the whip constantly in the first 1/2 mile of the race. This year we’re running the opposite kind of race, and I think there’s going to be quite a burst down the stretch when everything falls into place.

    And re: Mitch, I don’t care if that dude plays once a week. He’s a game wrecker, and we need him in the spring not now. He seemed to manhandle Wemby in the Cup Final, and I’m kinda glad we’re not giving him a chance to adjust tonight. There’s a surprisingly high chance they may be in the NBA finals now. Let Wemby adjust then.

    It was clear as the season started that KAT was the most disoriented by the coaching change and the role he was expected to play within the new strategies and tactics. Seems as if he’s still adjusting to the demands that Brown is putting on him. I think he deserves lots of grace for that reason.

    I had mentioned that he had 2 straight games with no offensive fouls. It’s hard to change engrained habits like hooking your defender with that off arm, but maybe that’s a point that Brown is bludgeoning KAT with, and he’s telling him to keep driving to work on that, because it does seem like KAT is passing up reasonably good looks from 3 to drive down the lane.

    Bummer we don’t have Mitch tonight but assuming he’s not actually reinjured it’s good that we’re prioritizing having him ready when it matters the most.

    The system Brown ran in Sacramento put a lot more emphasis on creating from the C position than generating shots for him. It’s a weird spot for KAT to be in.

    Kolek seems better at getting the ball to KAT than Brunson is, so hopefully that gets KAT going. Kolek looks for the pass more often out of the PnR, attacks the rim and pulls defenders instead of playing the midrange postup, and he makes a wider variety of passes to get KAT the ball.

    This is a revenge game for the Spurs at home and we are missing Mitch who is a key matchup piece. I don’t like our prospects tonight. We are going to need a couple of magical perfromances.

    We are gonna lose at least another 15 games, so it this is one of them, whatever. But I like our chances, we’re playing well, KAT is a load for Wemby, and our versatile kid wings should match up pretty well with their versatile kid big guards. And of course, we have The Captain.

    Even beyond the minutes, Thibs definitely utilized him in suboptimal ways. Point for Brown!

    Which is why I remained bullish on him all last year when a lot of Knicks fans threw in the towel and were looking to dump him instead of extending him.

    He was just not being used properly on either side and was automatically going to have a reduced role with us relative his time with the Nets because he was a primary option with Brooklyn and 3a option in NY. Plus he got off to a bad start experimenting with his shot.

    He has way more skill now than he did with the Suns.

    Brown is using him way better and this year he’s not experimenting with his 3 point shot. That all feeds into his BPM if you insist on looking at a stat like that. This turnaround was not tough to predict.

    Guys his age with his personality rarely suddenly get bad. They decline because of accumulated injuries that accelerate the loss of athleticism or because they aren’t really dedicated to the game once they’ve cashed their “bag” or because they have alcohol/drug issues etc..

    That’s the opposite of Bridges.

    I said it a bunch of times last year. Bridges is an excellent two way player that can be a starter on a championship caliber team.

    i don’t care how many quadrillion parameters they tweak no ai will ever invent a GLP-1 for the congratulations to me compulsion

    2

    I’m surprised we didn’t get a “just as I predicted…” post for Frank Ntilikina’s first double digit scoring game of the Euroleague season, an 11 point explosion against LDLC ASVEL on December 19th

    Happy New Year everyone. Over under on Knicks championships in the next quarter of a century: 2.5. Who takes the over?

    Key datapoints: Leon Rose is 64. Jim Dolan is 70. Jalen Brunson is 29.

    I watched some of the Laker game last night, hadn’t really checked them out this year. LeBron is old as hell and Deandre Ayton stinks.

    Happy new year gents and themts. May this quarter century deliver.

    Maybe 2026 is the year a woman joins the party?

    May not end the year in victory tonight but this has been one of the most successful Knicks seasons in a long time. Conference finalists to end 24/25 and carrying momentum to this new year. The vibes are great, the coach is playing the young guys and is starting to get a real feel for the team, and won the cup.

    Happy new year and let’s hope we are celebrating something special in June!

    I watched some of the Laker game last night, hadn’t really checked them out this year. LeBron is old as hell and Deandre Ayton stinks.

    The Lakers defense is just nonexistent. I’m not entirely sure they are a top 8 team in the West? I know they are missing Reaves right now, but there’s just no depth behind their top 3, and none of those 3 play passable defense at this point. 25th in DRtg might be too high for them.

    lebron’s defensive approach this year has looked extremely familiar to those of us well acquainted with the older dad defending a nerf hoop against a 9 year old dynamic. stand around and do absolutely nothing unless the ball happens to hang in your immediate vicinity and then smash it like you’re prime dikembe.

    and yet laravia had 4 steals and smart had 3 steals and the team had 10 overall not a huge amount but also not negligible they do however have zero rim protection

    “pretty much agree with zman…let’s pump the brakes on coronating the bench as deepest or whatever in the league…“

    I was thinking more 1-8

    Happy new year everyone, we already have the Cup, let’s add the Championship to it! 🍾🥂🥳🧡💙

    1

    i guess thats brunson mikal kat hart shamet clarkson mitch kolek? thats pretty damn good even if you account for shamets absence

    speaking of tv adjacent stuff (thank you big al), went thru the sopranos again…listened to some podcasts, checked out all the deleted scenes and a bunch of interviews…

    one down spot first – didn’t really like how they shit on james gandolfini in the doc: wise guy…i get why they did it like that, just thought it was a rotten creative choice…

    one big bright spot, found and watched a discussion (my dinner with alan) at holsten’s with mister al and a friend/colleague of his…so well done 🙂

    also of major boob tube significance, i’ve started a show (three body, on prime) that’s got me hooked as a diversion away from watching fallout season 2, only 8 so, wanna save them up, like precious gems…

    tough thing with the three body watch, is that i have to actually watch, like all the time, especially once the science talk starts, i’m barely able to understand that stuff even while staring intently at the english subtitles…every once in a while i’ll sneak a peek to see what’s actually happening on the screen with the actors and action…

    1

    I have to see Hamnet for professional reasons, but I’ve put it off because I’m not sure I’m emotionally ready to handle it at the moment. Made that mistake with The English Patient and bawled in the theater. Unbecoming.

    1

    that movie where frances mcdormand is living in an rv at different camp spots out in the southwest scared the crap out of me…

    took me years to watch it…

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